The Evils Deep In Your Own Mind
by EmeraldGarmadon
Summary: The Shade Ialana has enough of a human soul left to fight the evil within her. She seeks out Eragon Shadeslayer, hoping he can offer her freedom - if, should magic fail, through death. Rated T cos it's DARK, you've been warned. Slight Aryagon OC love triangle also. Don't like don't read, people! I do not own Algaesia, Eragon, or anything but my OC. Post-Brisingr, pre-Inheritance.
1. Ialana, Companion of Durza

The Evils Deep In Your Own Mind

An Inheritance Cycle Fanfic

Chapter 1: Ialana, Companion of Durza

For the thousandth time, the human side of the half-Shade Ialana's mind cursed the Shade who had done this to her. _Curse you a thousand times, Durza. You never told me this would happen, you never told me, you never told me, why did you never tell me? I hate you! _ She had thought he loved her, thought his interest was to teach her the laws of magic, and the ways of the Dark Spirits. He had never told her the catch - if the magic got out of control, the Dark Spirits would overtake her body and she would become a Shade.

_Kneeling beside the graves of her sister and grandmother, she grieves simply to be alive without them, the only friends she had left in the world. A man approaches, lays his hand on her shoulder. "We have much in common", he says in a voice barely above a whisper. "Who are you?", she asks."I am Durza", he says. "Come with me", he says._

Those who met Ialana reacted in one of three ways. Most just ran in fear of her. A few spoke to her. If the Shade side of her mind was ruling, which it more and more often was, they would say something that angered her and, most likely, she would kill them, her human side not realizing what had transpired until it was too late. Only one had ever thought to offer her advice. Her name was Arya. "Seek out my friend Eragon Shadeslayer. He is Shurt'ugal Argetlam, a Silver-Handed-DragonRider. He is perhaps more powerful a magician than any other in Algaesia, in Surda, in all the Empire. He may be able to help you."

He had killed Durza, the elf-woman had said.

_Now that, _Ialana thought, _I will only believe if I hear it from his own lips. And if it is indeed true, then all I have and all I can possibly obtain, will be his. If any man could indeed kill Durza... _If any man had killed Durza, than anything he could ask of her would be his in thanks.

Being half-Shade was unnatural. It was almost unheard-of for Dark Spirits to incompletely possess someone. Dark Spirits wanted it all...or nothing. From Durza they had taken it all. From Ialana, they had only managed to take most of her. Human thoughts and emotions still ruled her mind some of the time.

And the human part of her hated the Shade part. Hated looking in a mirror and seeing flaming-red hair and dark violet-red eyes and cream-colored skin that had once been dark. Hated warring her own thoughts. Hated killing innocents and barely realizing she was doing it.

In short, she hated who she was.

_Durza smiles at her, showing a flash of his pointed teeth. "You are learning so fast, so well, my protege", he says. Weakly she smiles back, energy still drained almost empty from magical exercises. "Thank you, my master", she gasps. "We will move on to advanced level tomorrow," he says, "but right now you need food, and wine, and sleep."_ _ She shakes her head. "No, master", she says. "I am ready to move on now." "Are you sure?", he asks. She nods. "Begin, then", he says._

Ialana glanced up at the sky. Night was falling. _Perfect_, she thought, a wave of Shade emotions washing over her. _The glorious cover of night. _Smiling a glinting, pointed, Shade smile, she hurried like a cat into the shadows.

The shadows led her to an inn. Cautiousness forgotten, Ialana strode inside. Heads turned as in she walked, up to the innkeeper. "I need lodging for the night."

"Sorry", the innkeeper muttered. "I don't give rooms to freaks."

Very unwise choice of words. Ialana lost it. "Fool!", she hissed. "You will regret the day that you insulted Ialana the Shade!" Pulling out a knife, she lunged at him. Frightened, the innkeeper pulled his own knife. Hurling it as a defense, he struck Ialana in the chest, just three inches to the left of her heart - a wound that would instantly kill a human.

But every DragonRider knows, a Shade can only be killed one way - by a direct blow to the heart itself.


	2. The House

Chapter 2: The House

Ialana emerged from the inn enraged and covered in blood - some of which was her own, some of which wasn't. So much for that place.

Her human side began to return, very slowly. She began to feel the same creeping remorse that always overtook her after a violent "Shade-like" period, particularly one in which she had harmed somebody. _Now I have killed...so many...fourteen?_ And those were only the ones she could remember.

_She has passed every test. Her talent for sorcery is amazing, as is her ability to communicate through telepathy_._ Durza is left gasping for air, his energy drained, after challenging her to a duel. "You...are...amazingly talented", he gasps. "Yes, master", she replies, "thank you master." Durza reaches over and lays his hand on her shoulder. "You do not have to call me "master" any longer", he says._

Ialana (almost literally) stumbled upon a desolate and deserted house. Could it even be called a house? It looked more like a pile of ashes. Evidence of Ra'zac involvement was obvious. Ialana's heart was in her throat. This was the place Arya the she-elf had told her to go - the former home of Eragon. _From there,_ she recalled, _cross the Spine, the place of perils -_ she had spoken of such a place as if it were nothing - _and on the other side, you will find Du Weldenvarden and the freedom fighters, the Varden, who reside there._ Well, but first she needed sleep for the night. She lay down on what had once been a ceiling beam. For a human it would have been very uncomfortable, sleeping on a fallen board, but Ialana's magical training and her Shade instincts made it so she could sleep and be comfortable in almost any situation...not to mention she was very tired. Within three minutes after her reddish eyes closed, she was asleep. And in her sleep she dreamed.

She dreamed that she was walking through a wide forest, which she assumed to be Du Weldenvarden. Men - no, some were elves - anyway, men and elves - and dwarves! - anyway, all manner of people, walked around her in a huge crowd. Some approached her...and they all simply faded through her like ghosts. A young man, who looked to be between seventeen and twenty, with brown hair and eyes, was among them. He seemed human enough, but his visage bore the look of an elf, and a look of wisdom and experience balanced out the boyish gleam in his eyes. Ialana knew, though she knew not how she knew, that this was Eragon Shadeslayer. "Atra esterni ono thelduin, Eragon Shur'tugal!", she called to him. He turned, and seemed to see her, though no one else could. Instead of returning the greeting, he slowly unsheathed his sword.

"Ganga!", he cried. "Go! Be gone!" Ialana was startled.

"Fricai onr eka eddyr!", she called back.

But all he would say was, "Ganga! Be gone! Ganga aht deyja!" _Go or die..._

Then, "Brisingr!", and the sword lit on fire, setting the trees ablaze and engulfing Eragon in a cloak of flame...

Ialana woke up. The stars had all faded away, and the sky was turning from pitch-black to a shining violet/gray. A chill wind had begun to blow, and a few drops of freezing-cold rain fell on the half-Shade's face. If she was to make it to the place called "the Spine" before a full-on winter storm began, she would have to leave soon - "soon" to a warrior having the meaning of "now."

When Ialana made it to the beginning of the mountain pass, snow was falling along with rain, the clouds combined with the dark of very-early morning making it almost impossible to see. "Barzul", Ialana cursed in Dwarvish under her breath. "Barzul!", she said again, this time in a yell.

She was extremely startled to hear a man's yell from the north in return. "Hall-ooooo-oh-a! Why do you shout, stranger?"


	3. Conversations With a Varden

Chapter 3: Conversations With a Varden

Ialana stiffened and shouted back, "Who calls? Are you of the Empire? If you are, know that I fear you not, and I have a score to be settled with one of your own!"

The man laughed. "I am not of the Empire! I stand for everything the Empire seeks to destroy! I am of the Varden!"

_The Varden!_

If this was an agent of the Varden, who would surely be headed to Du Weldenvarden, then perhaps he could help her find Eragon!

_Only now does Durza tell her he works for Galbatorix. She is surprised by the revelation. "You are an agent of the Empire, master?", she asks. "I am," he replies, "and do not call me "master" anymore. I have trained you. Now you are mine - my student, my equal, my friend...and perhaps, someday, our relationship will grow into more. We will one day reign together!" _

"Who are you?"

"Mine name is Stronghammer, and that is all you need know. Come ten paces closer, if you can. Reveal your face." With only a millisecond's hesitation, Ialana stepped ten paces forward, revealing to her a small tent. A dark-haired, twenty-something man wearing a red jacket and resting his hand on a fairly large hammer, like what a smith would use, was inside. It struck Ialana how much he looked like the young man in her dream.

"Are you...are you Eragon Shadeslayer?", she asked. The man looked up at her, startled.

"No, I am not, but I..." Then he noticed her visage. "Why, what in the name of...? You're one of those Shade things, aren't you? I'll be hanged if you don't look just like Eragon described..."

"Yes, I am."

"Why..."

"Do not fear me. I will not harm you, Master Strong-Hammer. I come bearing no weapon, and no ill-will." It was true, too. Ialana had left her knife at the inn where she had killed a man mere hours ago. _I hope this Strong-Hammer person never finds out about that._

"How do you know of Eragon?", Stronghammer asked her.

"An elf-woman, by the name of Arya, told me he could possibly cure me of my possession."

"But...how did you mistake me for him? How do you know what he looks like?"

"A dream."

"A dream?" He laughed. "Man, oh man, my cousin would get a kick out of that. Actually he might be the only one who believes such tales. A dream. Ha!"

"Your...cousin?"

He looked at her. "My cousin. Eragon Shadeslayer is my cousin. My younger cousin, I might mention. We grew up together."

"Oh."

"In fact, what used to be our house is right down that hill."

"I know. I slept there this past night."

"Well, you can come to the Varden with me, as soon as this storm lifts", Stronghammer said, changing the subject, "but if you really wish that, you will have to come as my prisoner."

"What?"

"You are a Shade. It would be far safer for you to come as my prisoner than to simply walk into Du Weldenvarden. I will be sure you see Eragon, but beyond that, I'm afraid it will be up to Lady Nasuada to decide what to do with you."

Ialana sighed. He was right. "Nen ono weohnata, Strong-Hammer-vodhr."

"Excuse me? Sorry, but I don't speak elvish."

"It means, "As you will, honored Strong-Hammer.""


	4. Du Weldenvarden

The next morning, Ialana and Stronghammer walked into Du Weldenvarden, Ialana as Stronghammer's prisoner. A dark-skinned woman in a flowing blood-red dress approached them. "Ah, Roran Stronghammer, I trust your mission was..."

"Actually, Lady Nasuada, my mission took a slight diversion."

"I happen to have made a prisoner of a female Shade who calls herself Ialana. She seeks Eragon."

"Hm?" Nasuada raised one eyebrow. "A female Shade has been reported in nearby towns for killings, maybe four of them."

"I knew that, Lady. This is quite likely the same."

"Indeed? Hm." She seemed to be thinking. "In that case, take her to the prison."

"What?" Ialana hadn't considered that Nasuada might never let her see Eragon at all.

"My lady," Roran said, "I gave her my word that I would allow her to see Eragon."

"And to what end? To kill him, too? We cannot trust her around our most trusted fighter."

"My lady..."

"You have your command, Stronghammer."

Roran sighed. "My Lady Nasuada, I gave my word. The sons of Garrow have never once broken their word, nor do I intend to now."

"We have had this conversation before, Stronghammer.", said Nasuada, her voice taking on a dangerous edge. "You will not disobey your direct orders again."

Roran swallowed. "But Lady..."

"Enough. You have your command. Should you defy me, I cannot promise I will again be as merciful as before."

"Yes, my lady." Well. No more chance of Ialana seeing Eragon now.

And then she she saw him - the young man from her dream! Breaking away, she ran towards him. "Atra esterni ono thelduin, Eragon Argetlam!", she called.

He turned around, surprised. "Atra du evarinya ono varda!", he called back.

_She can feel him, his arms around her, his lips meeting hers. "I, I can't believe it", she gasps. "I am in love with you, Durza." "And I with you", he says dreamily. "As you said", she says, "we will one day rule together. You as king, I as queen. I love you, Durza!" "As do I", he says, "as do I."_

"Fricai onr eka eddyr!", Ialana said as Eragon saw her and drew his sword.

"My friend!", he said, breaking away from the Ancient Language. "You are a Shade!"

"I know."

"I am the one known as Shadeslayer! Why would you seek me?"

"Wiol pomnuria ilian", she said, simply.

"For your happiness? Now what is that supposed to mean?"

"I need you, Argetlam. A she-elf, Arya, told me you could free me of the Shade, of the monster I have become."

"The Shade you have become...so it was not your choice? What do they control, except your body?"

"Iet manin! Iet hugina! Iet wyrda!", Ialana cried. "My memories! My thoughts! My very fate!"

"Alright!", Eragon half-shouted. "I get it! No need to get yourself all in a twist over it!" Then he sighed. "My. Alright, I'll see what I can do...but, go along with Roran. Please. You don't want to cross Roran."

So Roran took Ialana to a darkened room, one of many that served as the Varden's holding cells, their prison.

Eragon came to see her there.

**(A/N: Sorry the chapters are so short. The up side of that is, there will be many chapters and I will update often! The magic starts next chapter, as does the (slight/hinted) triangle between Ialana, Eragon, and Arya. Thanks for reading, please review!)**


	5. Conversations With a Rider

Chapter 5: Conversations with a Rider

**(A/N: Just to clear up a question I've had people PM me about - the setting and locale are to be read as slightly AU, what with Du Weldenvarden and all. I just wanted a location close-ish to the Spine to make Ialana's journey a little more straightforward.)**

"Alright. Tell me about it. What happened to you? When did you meet Arya?"

"First one thing, Argetlam."

"What thing?"

"Tell me truly, oh Eragon DragonRider - did you kill Durza?"

"I thought everyone knew that..."

"Did you kill Durza?"

"Yes, I did."

Ialana simply stared at the wall for a moment. "I thought it could never be true", she murmured. "I thought it could not be true!"

"What are you talking about? Did you have some grudge against Durza?"

"_I think you are ready for the real thing", he says. "The real thing?", she inquires. "The real thing", he repeats. "I will show you the magical art in practice. You will follow my lead, and, if all goes right, you shall finally summon Dark Spirits, and then you shall truly be equal to me in every way - not a Shade, but still my every equal as a sorcerer!"_

"A grudge? Shadslayer, you have a true gift for underestimation."

"Underestimation...what did he do to you?"

"He used me. He pretended to love me, then betrayed me. He trained me in sorcery, that most dangerous of magical arts, then tricked me into summoning things I couldn't handle or control, making me...*this*."

"Well...I have a question of my own. Have you killed anyone?"

"Yes. But only in my violent Shade periods."

Eragon shook his head and whistled, all at once. "And you had the nerves to come to Nasuada? If Nasuada was a leader in Carvahall, you'd be walking to your hanging."

Ialana smiled darkly. "Meaning what, Shadeslayer? Whether I like it or not, I am a Shade. I can only be killed one way. So it matters not what your Lady Nasuada decides to do with me, unless she is a crack shot or incredibly lucky, she will never be rid of me!" The half-Shade stifled an "evil laugh" at the end of that statement. Eragon sighed.

"I can try a simple healing spell on you", he offered.

"Agreed."

_The magic is too strong. She cannot control the spirits she has just summoned - instead, they are controlling her. Her hair turns a shade of red somewhere between cinnamon and flame, her dark skin bleaches a creamy pale color, a maroon color, a color like roses or maybe wine, creeps into her eyes. "Your name is Ialana", Durza whispers. "You are one of us." "No!", she screams. "Durzaaaa! Durzaaaaa!"_

"Touch my hand", Eragon instructed.

Ialana touched the palm of her left hand to Eragon's right, perfectly aligning her fingers with his. "Begin, Argetlam."

"Waise hiell!" _Be healed! _

Well, it did something at any rate. The deep cut on Ialana's chest from her fight with the innkeeper faded and disappeared. But otherwise, she stayed just the same as she had been before. Red hair, pale skin, red-violet eyes. A Shade. No longer an injured Shade, but...a Shade.

She was still the one thing she had hoped not to be.

Eragon pulled his hand away. "Sorry."

"It is not your fault, Argetlam. Healing spells are not supposed to cure inward afflictions."

Ialana hoped he would do it again, though, somehow. She wanted to touch his hand again. Eragon Shadeslayer, Shurt'ugal Argetlam, was a very attractive young man, and touching him gave her a feeling she had not felt since...

_Since Durza._

**(A/N: Wow. 1/3 (ish) of the way through, and already I have 367 views, 5 reviews, 5 follows, and 3 faves! Thanks so much guys. It's great that you are willing to spend your time reading my work. Onward!)**


	6. A Spell Strong and Potent

Chapter 6: A Spell Strong and Potent

"I'm back."

"I can see that, Argetlam."

"I - I'm sorry about yesterday."

"You simply wanted to start small. No harm done."

"Well, no good done either.", Eragon muttered. "Alright", he said, "I looked through some of Oromis' old scrolls last night."

"Who is Oromis?"

"My instructor, just as Durza was yours."

"Oh?"

"Well, though not in the same way. Anyway, he had a spell listed for internal healing. I'm not entirely sure how well it will combat spirits, but it's supposed to cure mental problems. I'm not sure."

"Why do you not just ask your Oromis person?"

"Because, like yours, my instructor is dead." Eragon's voice sounded strangely dull when he said this. Ialana felt sorry for him - something she had not felt in a long time.

"Touch my hand again." Ialana gripped it. Again the same sensation of attraction ran through her.

"Begin, Argetlam."

"Jierda hjarta' hel," Eragon chanted slowly, "hiell koma e lifa, huilder mor'ranr."

Ialana only recognized most of the words - "huilder" was unfamiliar, but she thought it meant "have" or "hold". So, from what she could piece together, Eragon was saying, "Break down the heart's hell. Heal, woman, and live, having peace."*

"Ah!" Eragon let out a little gasp. "Oh, heaven", he muttered. "A spell strong and potent, and it certainly requires a lot of energy. Is it working?"

"I, I don't think so."

"Oh, what I wouldn't give to have Oromis around. I'm very sorry, Ialana. I will continue to search the scrolls."

"Again, it is not your fault, Argetlam. You simply did not know what was going to happen, as you did yesterday."

"Oromis hinted once that he may have dealt with Dark Spirits. I'll see if he wrote anything about them."

"I thank you, Argetlam."

"I'll be back."

**(A/N: Yes, I know this chapter was super short. The next one will be longer promise. *= By the way, I did translate this myself, it's probably bad grammer and such, but I found the words on the Internet, and I'm really not an expert on the Ancient Language. According to a translation guide on Shur'tugal website, it should mean about what I said.)**


	7. You Are Failing, Master Eragon

Chapter 7: "You Are Failing, Master Eragon"

**(A/N: Sorry for the longish hiatus. I really need to remember to post notices when I'm going on vacation... Anyway, here's the next chapter you've all been waiting for!)**

Ialana was awakened the next morning by the rather loud sound of a dragon clapping it's wings together. Right outside where she was sleeping. "You are here again, Argetlam." Then, she noticed it was still mostly dark outside. "Argetlam?"

"Hush. I need to speak with you."

"On what?"

"I think I may have figured something out. The Sundavar un Rakr-"

"The what?"

"'The Mist and the Shadows'...an old poem Oromis had...anyway, it describes a method used a long time ago to fight Spirits."

"And?"

"I may be able to harness it. But it would require a lot of energy from me...I would need to perform the spell out-of-doors, in order to gain energy from my surroundings."

"How will you accomplish that?"

Eragon grinned. "Tauthr eka." He placed his hand on the lock. "Jierda!" There was a sharp _clannnnnk-snap,_ and the door swung open. "See? Easy."

"I could have done that myself."

"Well, you didn't. Follow me."

"You said that."

"No, I said 'tauthr eka.'"

"They are the same thing!" Eragon laughed. Ialana liked the way he laughed.

Once outside, Eragon stood face-to-face with Ialana, eyes closed, and even so she got the feeling he was staring intently at her. "Hona eka, sundavar", he said slowly, then paused for about nine seconds before continuing. "Eka thelduin ono. Ialana thelduin ono. Garjzla thelduin sundavar! Ganga, eldryvara pomnuria istlari!"

Ialana barely processed all this. Her mind felt hazy. _Hear me, shadows...I rule you...Ialana rules you...Light rules shadow!...Go_ _or burn in my flames! _

"AH!" Ialana felt a terrible physical pain in her head as the Spirits backlashed. They seemed to be laughing at Eragon, and their words were spiling from her mouth. "Fool! You cannot defeat us with poetry, stupid Dragon Rider! We are darkness! Leave us in peace, or else eldryvara pomnnuria istlari thyself, oh Shadeslayer! A magician! Ha!" The weird, distorted voices stopped. There was only Ialana, her mind now rolling in full-on Shade mode.

"You are failing, master Eragon", she said, grinning evilly. "You have failed already!" She rushed off into the darkness, stopping only once to say one thing -

"Do not underestimate the power of the dark ones, Argetlam."

**(A/N: Barzul, those Spirits are difficult! (And okay, I lied, this chapter really wasn't much longer than the last one.) Poor Eragon, he's doing all he can. Mild weirdness in the next two chapters, you have been forewarned!)**


	8. Loose

Chapter 8: Loose

**(A/N: I noticed we haven't had a flashback in two chapters. So, this chapter will start out with one! WARNING: Minor character death. It just about goes complete AU from there. Or not...I guess it's up to the audience if Blohdgarm dies...shucks. I just spoiled it. Or...oh, heck, just read the dang chapter!)**

_Her screams mean nothing to Durza. She realizes this only now, now that he is walking out on her and leaving her to die as the Spirits fight for her mind. "Please don't leave", she manages to whisper. "Please don't." He laughs. "Why should I stay? I have other business, elsewhere." "But...Durza", she gasps, "What happened to you? Have you forgotten...all I know? All we had? I thought you loved me!" "What happened to me? I dropped my act, of course. I stopped pretending to be human. I stopped pretending to feel anything. Love? Bah! Love is for children, for mortals, Ialana. For a great, dark, misunderstood sorcerer like me...bah, love! Soon you will know the feeling." She thinks she might already. For as she tries to cry, as she waits for tears to run, her red eyes merely stare coldly at the space where Durza used to stand._

Ialana knew the sounds behind her. The sound of running feet. The _shing_ of swords being unsheathed. And by the speed with which her pursuers caught up to her...elves. "Nangoroth alfakyn.", she muttered. "Blasted elves."

"Kodthr alfrin!" The leader of the elves screamed. Even without her senses sharpened, she could easily hear what he was saying - "Catch her!"

And with her senses sharpened, she could easily tell he was right behind her.

Ialana turned unexpectedly on a dime, so fast that the leader of the elves, that funny-looking-half-animal they called Blodgharm, almost crashed into her. "Letta!", he screamed just in time for Ialana to drop and slide. She grabbed Blodgharm's legs, pulling him to the ground.

Ialana grabbed Blodgharm's knife from it's sheath. About eleven elves immediately strung their bows, but they dared not shoot for fear they would hurt their leader.

The Shade, on the other hand, had absolutely no qualms. Nimbly jumping back up, she flung the knife downward on a projectile angle, never flinching. She also didn't flinch pulling the knife out of the Varden leader's torso, feeling the warm blood rolling down the handle onto her fingers.

And then the elves fired. Ialana dropped again, and rolled, knocking at least three of the elves over like ninepins. Pushing herself up, she managed to kick one elf in the face coming up and immediately began to fend off the others with a method Durza had simply called Hvass Thrysta, literally "the sharp thrust." _I might hate Durza_, she thought grudgingly, _but he did teach me many useful things._

One elf managed to get up and shoot. An arrow struck Ialana in the leg. Then in the arm. Her fingers seemed to flex all on their own and she dropped the knife. Another blow to the leg brought her crumpling to the ground.

The elf who had fired the shots stood triumphantly over her, a fourth arrow strung on his bowstring. "You killed one of our leaders", he said.

"It's possible", Ialana said, forcing out every word. "I kill a lot of people."

"The penalty for that is death." He pulled back the arrow. "No one could begrudge me the honors." Ialana instinctively rolled over, keeping her back turned to him and the center of her chest, where her heart would be, as protected as she could...just in time to feel a splitting sting as the arrow pierced through her.

Then Ialana was hit with pain and black like an ocean wave, that sent her reeling back into nothingness.

**(A/N: Dunh-dunh-dunhhhhh! Cliffhanger! The next chapter is pretty - ah - out there. Read at own risk. Kudos to anyone who can spot the movie quote in there!)**


	9. The Nonmaterial Realm

Chapter 9: The Nonmaterial Realm

Ialana blinked her eyes open. Or did she blink? She couldn't tell - she could barely feel her own skin. The things she was seeing looked odd and distorted, as if she was viewing them as a reflection in a rippling creek or a glass wine-bottle. She felt as though she were flying - no, flying wasn't the word. More like floating on a river. _I must be existing in nonmaterial form. I remember Durza spoke of it. It happens to a Shade who receives a so-called "death blow" anywhere but directly in the heart. Hm._ It was funny - an arrow in the back seemed to have put an end to her violent episode, and now her human side was ruling again. _I want to get back_, she realized. _Back to the real world, to real life, to..._

_To Eragon._

Ialana scolded herself for this last thought. She had no idea why she continued to think of Eragon that way...enjoying his company, longing for his touch, missing him when he was not around. She tried to ignore it. She had felt that way about Durza...and look where it got her.

_She isn't sure where to go now. She has no family to go back to, no home. Her transformation into a Shade grows more and more complete with each passing day, and no one is willing to take in someone who they clearly regard as a monster - this much she knows. She isn't naive. She knows that now she will have to learn to survive on her own, without family, without friends, without love. "I don't need them", she whispers. "I don't. Need. Love."_

Ialana was able to make out the place where she was "standing"- somewhere near the Varden headquarters. In the forest. On a mountaintop. And...she thought she heard the very loud _flap-clap, flap-clap_ of a dragon's wings. _Saphira!_ "Eragon!", she cried out. "Eragon! Hello!" Four seconds after the words were out of her mouth, she was scolding herself for the idiocy of it. Of course Eragon couldn't hear her. _Yet another way Eragon is like Durza - I completely forget everything else when talking to him. _Well, she must, if she had forgotten that she - to him, at any rate - did not even exist.

_There has to be a way to get out of this form_, she thought. _I've never heard of any, though. Durza said it happened to him once, and it took him months to return fully. _

_Months?!_ Ialana mentally panicked. _I cannot remain like this for months! If I do not return... _Then, something occured to her. _But if I simply return...just like that, with no explanation...who knows what might happen? Better to let them believe I have been killed, then when I have recovered and returned, seek out Eragon in secret. _

Then Ialana remembered something. _It is quite the long shot...but it is possible that I might make contact with him in our minds. _She took a deep breath - figuratively, she was not actually breathing - and sent a thought into his mind. _Shadeslayer? Argetlam? Can you hear me, Master Eragon?_

"_Whoa! Ialana? Are you...talking to me?"_

_Yes. Obviously. _

"_Well...alright. You aren't dead?"_

_Of course not. If I was dead, I would not be talking to you._

"_Well...where do I start? Last night, after you ran off -"_

_That was night? I assumed it was morning._

"_Irrelevant. Anyway, these elves went after you, and then one came back about two hours later, saying you'd killed Blodgharm, and...oh, hellfire! There was such an uproar, and I am fully confident no one was upset that elf said he had killed you..."_

_Slow down, Argetlam. I can't hold this connection for very much longer, and it exhausts me to receive such a message. _

_Sorry._

_I will try to return. Meet me...on the mountaintop I assume you are still flying over._

"_I'll be there. Two o clock. Tomorrow...morning."_

_Agreed._

**(A/N: Five chapters to go, and I now have 5 favorites, 7 follows, 12 reviews, and...whoa...1,009 views! Keep on going, guys!)**


	10. There's Only One Thing Left to Try

Chapter 10: "There's Only One Thing Left To Try"

**(A/N: To all my wonderful reviewers: Thank you all so much! Keep going, my goal is to have 25 reviews by the end of this story! That means I need...at least two reviews per each of the last 5 chapters! Please help me out!)**

It was two o'clock in the morning. Ialana was there, on the mountaintop, as promised. She had managed - at the cost of most of her energy - to craft a spell to bring herself back from the nonmaterial realm. But that came at a downside - if she was attacked before her magic was allowed to replenish, she would have no defense.

_Flap-clap, flap-clap._ Saphira. Eragon climbed off his dragon's back and walked towards Ialana. "I'm here."

"Yes, you are, Master Eragon. What is it you wish to speak of?"

"Well, I think there's only one thing left to try."

"What?"

"There's another poem, the Osatho Dramur - the Sage Dream...I don't know what that means either - and it contains talk of a spell which it says will cure possesion. I can attempt it...but Nasuada has forbidden me any contact with you, if you were alive she said, which you are, so we had to come up here."

"Alright. Begin?"

"I will begin." Eragon was quiet for about seven seconds with his hands together as if he were meditating. Then, in a soft, but firm voice, "Ialana, eka lonsa fra onr sunduvar." _Ialana, I release you from the shadows._ Ialana noticed at the back of her mind that Eragon often used the word sundavr when talking of her. _Sunduvar. Shadows. Because shadows are dark, foreboding, and at the same time beautiful. _

"Aa-ah!" Eragon let out a small cry. The flow of magic stopped. "That...that should have worked..."

"No," said Ialana, in a voice so human it surprised even her, "it should not have."

"Meaning?"

"I have read the Osatho Dramur. The words in question only work if spoken to one...one whom you...whom you love."

"What? If you knew this, why did you not tell me?"

"Because I thought perhaps you-" Ialana stopped, and merely looked straight into his eyes.

"Wait." Eragon suddenly seemed to understand. "No. No, no, no, you are not really saying..."

But she was. Ialana had finally admitted what she had never had the courage to tell even herself - she was in love with Eragon Shadeslayer.

_After months of wandering, she finally finds a city in which she can take refuge. Standing at the gates, as though waiting for her, is a woman with a hood over her face. "Who are you?" The woman flips her hood back, revealing flowing dark hair and pointed ears. An elf. "I am Arya", the elf-woman says. "I have heard of you. I have some advice to give you." "Yes?" "Seek out my friend Eragon Shadeslayer. He is Shurtugal Argetlam, a Silver-Handed-DragonRider. He is perhaps more powerful a magician than any other in Alagaesia, in Surda, in all the Empire. He may be able to help you."_

"Ialana." Eragon sounded confused, like he didn't know what to say to her. "I'm really sorry", he said, reaching out and touching her face, "I don't want to make things any harder on you. But you have to let go of these feelings. My heart belongs to another. I cannot give you...what you desire."

Ialana was silent, absorbing his words, trying to heed them. "I...understand, Master Argetlam." _No longer Eragon. Simply Master Argetlam. He is willing to say "Let me help", but unwilling to say "I love you". _The thought nagged her, _At least he is not like Durza, willing to __say__ "I love you", but unwilling to __mean__ "I love you."_

Ialana's dark side grew silently stronger as, on a mountaintop in a starry purple-skyed morning, her heart was broken again.

**(A/N: A slight LotR reference in here. If no one gets it, I'll explain in the next chapter.)**


	11. The Transformation & Edoc'sil

Chapter 11: The Transformation/Edoc'sil

**(A/N: Change of plans: This chapter and what was going to be the next one have been put together because it was just too short to publish alone (Thus the fact that it seems to have two titles.) That means only two more chapters after this plus an epilogue.)**

Ialana awoke the following morning with a vague feeling that something was wrong with her, something was different. She felt...stronger. Angrier. With a lust for blood. She examined a strand of her hair, and it was a much, much darker red.

Then she knew what had happened. She had known it had to happen, eventually. Her human side had been all but entirely vanquished. Ialana had become a complete Shade. The feeling that she had been betrayed by the one she loved yet again had been the last straw, and her almost-literal demons had won out.

There was only one human thought left in Ialana's mind, one thing - _Eragon._ That one word in her mind set off what seemed to be an argument between two separate people. _Eragon. I have to find him._

_That is completely stupid. Why would you want to find __him__?_

_Because he wants to help me, save me._

_He failed. _

_Magic failed._

_And if he sees you now?_ _Why would he trust you?_

_Perhaps he won't._

_And if he doesn't?_

_Then better for me to be destroyed than all these others._

Ialana suddenly found herself running, running back to the place where Eragon had last stayed. The problem was he wasn't alone. _I can send a message to his mind. I am stronger now. _But when it was harder and harder to get a grip on a human thought, she only managed to get one clear thing across - _I am here._ That was followed by a rapid barrage of images and conflicting fragments of thoughts, then something even she couldn't make out, but it seemed to be _It's too late._

Then he was beside her. "Ialana. Why have you come? I can't just leave behind my scouting party."

"Eragon...I need"- she barely got the words out - "a weapon of some sort."

"What?" Then, he looked closer at her. "Oh. No. This is not happening."

"Eragon. It's already happened."

"Then how can I trust you with a weapon?" Ialana's anger at him was rising. "Unless you plan to-" He stopped. "You can't."

"Better I am lost than all of these with you! I am too strong, Eragon, too vile, too dangerous..."

Eragon seemed to be shaking his head, probably out of shock. "Ialana..." Then, something seemed to dawn on him. "I - know. I've guessed it."

"What?"

"Your true name. You are Edoc'sil. Unconquerable."

_Edoc'sil. Unconquerable. _"I am," she said quietly, silently slipping Eragon's knife out of it's sheath.

But the rage building up in her could and would no longer be controlled. Without time to think of it, Ialana attacked Eragon.

**(A/N: Updating often. Please review.)**


	12. Last Resorts

**(A/N: OK, I guess I lied a little when I said Updates Soon. But between vacation, the start of the school year, and coming down a little sick last week...I haven't had much time for this. But all 3 of the final chaps are done, and I'm putting them all up at once.**

**Now, to my loyal followers - Thank you so so so so so much for sticking to this thing until the end. I just want to say - if not-so-happy endings aren't your thing, feel free to drop out now. Seriously. I won't be offended. Thank you all for giving me your time.)**

Eragon had just time to draw his longer sword, the sword named Brisingr, and block Ialana's attack. "Ialana!", he screamed at her through a flurry of blows, "Stop this! You know you can!"

"You are a fool, Eragon Shur'tugal!", she screamed back. "You call yourself Shadeslayer, and yet you cannot even injure me!" She twisted around, coming very close to knocking Eragon to the ground. "Shur'tugal, in any conflict between positive and negative, the negative will prevail in the end!" She laughed. "It is what your...what-do-you-call-them, your Varden, do not understand. They cannot win! You cannot win! Look at me, Shur'tugal. Do you honestly think you can destroy..."

Her voice seemed to catch in her throat and turned into a strangled cry as Eragon spun his sword around, knocking the smaller weapon out of her hand and causing her to fall. "I will not destroy you, Ialana."

"No." Something came into her eyes, a sort of confusion, like she didn't know where she was, then was gone just as quickly as it had appeared. "Eragon...Eragon. Listen to me, Eragon, while I still have control - listen. You know my true name. Edoc'sil. It means Unconquerable. And I believe I can be unconquerable. I will not allow myself to be corrupted, controlled, any longer. Eragon..." She stopped momentarily as a wave of pain swept over her body and rage over her heart, then, struggling, continued. "Eragon, I love you. Do you hear that? I love you. I know you do not love me in return, but if you did - would you not wish to keep me from becoming a monster? To stop me from taking innocent lives?"

"Yes, Ialana. Wholeheartedly. I wish the same whether I love you the way you are thinking or not!"

"You tried, Master Eragon. Magic...it failed. There is only one thing left for me. It would have to happen anyway. Shadeslayer..." Ialana tore open her tunic, exposing her chest where her heart would be. "It is time for you to live up to your name, your legend, once again."

"I will not kill you, Ialana!"

"Then give me your sword!"

"No.", he said. "There must be another way. There has to be. There always is." Eragon reached down to help her stand up. With Brisingr still in hand. Ialana took advantage of that, grabbing and twisting his sword-arm...

...sending the great sword's blade directly into her heart.


	13. Tourniquet My Suicide

Chapter 13: Tourniquet My Suicide

Ialana gasped as the pain racked her body. Not just the pain of the blade, the sharp silver waves the pierced her insides and swam in front of her eyes in flashing color. The pain of the Spirits rebelling, fleeing...

She threw back her head and screamed, the Dark Spirits leaving her in an explosion of darkness.

Then, as she fell forward into Eragon's arms, a transformation - of a good kind - came over her. Her pale white skin darkened into a shade (the color kind) of brown that resembled polished oak. Her fiery hair all at once turned black, like a coal that has just finished burning. She blinked her red-violet eyes, and they turned a soft blackish-brown. For a second, Eragon thought she looked like Nasuada.

"Eragon," she murmured, "I'm...sorry it had to be this way..."

"Oh, Ialana...so - so am I..."

"Eragon, I loved you." The use of the past tense scared Eragon, somehow. "But I know your heart belongs to her."

"Her?"

"Arya. I knew the moment I met her she loved you. And I do not ask that you love me. All I ask is -" She gasped.

"What? Speak, Ialana. I will give whatever you ask of me."

"Forget the wrong that I've done. Don't resent me. Keep me in your memory."

"It shall be done."

"Thank you, Eragon...thank you...thank you..."

And so, Ialana, one so feared, breathed her last, not as Shade, but as human. The last word to fall upon her ears was, _"Edoc'sil."_

He had called her by her true name. And that, in her mind, was a bond stronger than a kiss - a bond that could never be broken.

**(A/N: All is not over! Turn the page!**


	14. Epilogue: She Searches For You

Epilogue: She Searches For You

_Eragon. _She knows he will not hear, for who can hear from the next world?, but she says it anyway. _I'm sorry. I'm sorry it had to be this way. I wish you could have cured me without this. I wish I could have told you all my stories and my family name - I remember it! It's Sunduvar. You were right - I always was a shadow. I wish you could hear this. I am so very sorry. For my sake, I ask you to look past what you think is the end. All life lives on if we have any love for it._

_Eragon, Shadeslayer, Shur'tugal, Argetlam, hear this now-_

_People die. But real love is forever._

_I wait, I search for you._

**THE END**

**(A/N: We have reached the end. I am sad. :'-( No seriously, I think I might cry right now. Being an original fiction writer, I gotta ask - would any of you read an original-fic version of this? A tale that follows the same basic plotline in an original world?**

**I would like to thank **_**everybody**_** who read this (I am seriously going on 2000 veiws!), but particularly Eldunar, Kagega, LonelyHollow117, PuppyLove10121, Scrawl the Penguin, lily0yuri, stapet, shin obin, middleearthmidget, Slanderman (1st review...ever, I think!), and especially you, miss Cougar rolypoly bug. I love you guys. :-) 3)**


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